[crazy42]

First off, apologies everyone for delayed response from my end. I had a pretty hectic schedule but have been going through your comments.

Thanks for all the help and have currently decided against going for the GT. Also thanks to you I have a few more cars I have added to my checklist and will keep you posted, hopefully sooner than later.

Originally Posted by self_driven

A used out-of-warranty German is EXACTLY what I advice first time buyers to stay away from.

Originally Posted by self_driven

Honda City 4th gen meets most of your requirements, apart from safety, which is questionable. It has that typical Japanese lightness and feels nowhere close to the Germans in terms of driving dynamics. However, it scores heavily in terms of performance (in MT), reliability, resale value and space management. Build quality and driving dynamics are not major deterrents to a first time car buyer or someone who has little experience with other/better cars.

I have had experience driving various cars, mostly on zoom and also of my cousins and friends too. So kind of have a bit of idea about the driving that I liked. City was one such car I had my eyes on too, was like a dream car when I was in 7th class.

In-fact, I had recently taken a test drive of a used 2016 City SV MT, which was maintained very well by the owner. Wouldn't say worshiped but very well maintained, with clean interiors and some scratches on the body. I liked the drive, suspension and handling. I had a few issues with gear not being smooth and significant engine noise coming through to the cabin. I was kind of fine with these too, and was thinking of getting a mechanic to have a look. But what put me off was once we were done with TD, I touched the bonnet and it was uncomfortably hot. When I opened it, we could feel the heat from the engine standing up. I had not felt this on any of the previous cars. Is this something common for Honda cars or a City?

Originally Posted by self_driven

It would be easier for us if you could elaborate on your usage and fuel & transmission preferences.

• Usage: My usage will be a mix between city and highway driving. I plan to have it for regular use with occasional long drives, including hill stations.
• Fuel: My preference is for a petrol car, mainly for their NVH levels, though I'm open for Diesel too.
• Transmission: Again no hard and fast rule, prefer manual but open for a good automatic
• Boot space: need decent boot space, definitely larger than the one on Baleno
• Back seat: Should be able to seat 3 adults albeit with a bit compromise
• Should be fun to drive, I really liked the DSG gearbox, the handling and the punch polo gt had in a TD vehicle, that was the inception for my interest in that vehicle
• Functional features: keyless entry, infotainment display for navigation, day-night irvm, electronic ORVM, steering controls - negotiable
• Safety features: long even throw of head lamps, atleast 2 airbags but would prefer 4, other standard features, fog lamps not a requirement but good to have - best case, all this resulting in a 4-star or higher rating

Originally Posted by Lobogris

It’s a good deal for the seller and way too overpriced for you. This vehicle won’t fetch even 3 lakhs in Delhi NCR. Car prices are higher down South but anything more than 4 to 5 lakhs is too much. Otherwise Volkswagen cars are great.

Yeah, going through the catalog of the cars available in those cities brought tears to eyes, the taxes in KA are ridiculous (current residence but will be moving to Hyd)

Originally Posted by Cliff9091

https://www.olx.in/en/item/maruti-su...iid-1647642427

Cheers
Cliff

Thank you for the suggestion and very helpful link, but alas, moving to Hyd and so looking for a car registered there. Will keep a look out for any available. Cheers mate

One weird encounter I had at Bangalore Nexa showroom. I had also liked the look and feel of S-Cross in general and went to the showroom for checking it out and taking a TD. The sales person without even giving any info about S-cross suggested to go for Baleno and was pitching only Baleno the entire duration. He reluctantly gave S-cross for a TD and even during the drive was pitching only Baleno.

Originally Posted by MileCruncher

Hence please be very clear if the desire for Red GT TSI beats the desire to have a sensible family car.

Thank you! After going through everyone's comments here I have decided against it for now and have postponed the GT purchase for now. I do still plan to have it some day as a secondary car for the purposes you mentioned.

Thank you again for all your valuable inputs. My current car list:

1. Honda City
2. Suzuki Kizashi
3. S-Cross
4. VW Vento - not so keen on this
5. VW Jetta

[KapilD]

It has been great 7 years with my Polo 1.2 GT TSI. However, it’s time that I hit the upgrade option. Kushaq 1.5 TSI EVO is my next purchase. The 1.2 would go into classifieds.

What a love car it has been. No squeaks, rattles or any such noise. The engine still feels as smooth as it was 7 years ago but it’s time to move on.

Guess I’ll be scanning more in the Kushaq thread from now on.

[PrisonMike]

Can anyone recommend a good garage in Mumbai, that can install components/parts for my Polo? eg new infotainment systems, intakes, etc etc.

[thechinmay]

It's been about 3 months and 3k kms since I upgraded my suspension to the Sachs street dampers. They've now settled in and definitely seem to be a worthwhile upgrade.
The car rides absolutely flat at highway speeds and expansion joints are dismissed with a muted thud. There is much less roll as well.
On another note, the second ABS sensor has conked off in as many years. A tire change is also pending and should further improve the road manners of the car.

[Papillon]

Hello,

Please suggest a good car paint job person/garage in North Bangalore for a GT TSI in Flash Red.

Will going to VW authorised workshop be better/advisable?

Any pointers will be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

[Guite]

Originally Posted by Papillon

Please suggest a good car paint job person/garage in North Bangalore for a GT TSI in Flash Red.

Will going to VW authorised workshop be better/advisable

VW and Skoda has the best paint job in new cars, amongst all Indian car manufacturers. That's my personal observation. It can be expected that their service centres would use same products as the factory, and follow procedures set by parent company. So I doubt independent garages can match that quality. Cost of course would be more in company authorised paint shop.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by Guite

... service centres would use same products as the factory, and follow procedures set by parent company. So I doubt independent garages can match that quality. ...

I have had had denting/painting done in both service centre and independent. Both did an excellent job, at almost exactly the same price. I do agree that company A-S-S can hopefully be relied on to use the same paints

[Turbohead]

Originally Posted by Guite

VW and Skoda has the best paint job in new cars, amongst all Indian car manufacturers. That's my personal observation. It can be expected that their service centres would use same products as the factory, and follow procedures set by parent company. So I doubt independent garages can match that quality. Cost of course would be more in company authorised paint shop.

Not really!
When we had to get a few panels painted, the job done by the ASS was shoddy compared to the orginal factory finish. In fact the next time we did it with an independent shop and they were equally good, if not better than the ASS.

After all, it completely depends on the specific ASS/ independent garage you take it to.

[Papillon]

Hello,


Need suggestions for installing genuine leather seat covers and a reverse parking camera for my GT TSI in Bangalore.

Kindly pour in your suggestions for both.

Thanks in advance.

[GrandTourer]

Hi folks,

I came across this H7 LED bulb from Osram on Amazon today. I wanted to know if anyone has used this bulb replacement?
https://www.amazon.in/dp/B08L93GX5K/...EWRSFBR1KTB5KV

I have a few questions regarding this:
1. Are these any good since they are 25W compared to the stock 55W?
2. Is setup too cumbersome with the driver unit? I would hate if the driver unit rattles
3. Lastly, would this void the warranty?

[Sahil00090]

Originally Posted by Papillon

Will going to VW authorised workshop be better/advisable?

Any pointers will be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

My rear left door got damaged and car was 3 Weeks old, if I remember correctly. And the main damage was on that line which runs at lower end of the door.

I was like that this dent will always be there and this line won't be getting restored for sure. I went to VW A.S.S, SA said they would be able to fix 90% of the dent. I asked them to show the cars currently being fixed and repainted by them. I was fairly convinced, changing the door was not an option (P.s. it was not that damaged but since it was a new car, I was thinking that extreme).

They quoted above 6k, I checked and there was a package of 10k which includes getting 3 panels repaired within 2 years. I decided to buy that since in Delhi's bumper to bumper traffic you never know what would happen and if I don't use the remaining 2 coupons I can use the remaining value for some other services (I need to go through terms again to be 100% sure).

Long story short, the job was completed in three days and I went to receive the car with a bit of nervousness and when I saw the car, Oh boy!! I felt they placed a new door. The line was restored perfectly and colour had no issues either, I was really happy with the work done by them.

Now the car is more than 3 months old and to be honest it never feels that the door was damaged.

Let me know if you want picture of that door just to get some perspective.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by Sahil00090

Long story short, the job was completed in three days and I went to receive the car with a bit of nervousness and when I saw the car, Oh boy!! I felt they placed a new door. The line was restored perfectly and colour had no issues either, I was really happy with the work done by them.

I badly dented right-rear door of my car on the end-edge of wall, whilst getting a front wheel out of a deep hole (I got in a place I should never have got in). The denting was so bad that the metal was close to being punctured. My Polo was that pearlescent blue, my favourite VW colour.

I've posted this 18 times (rough estimate), but, when I saw the finished work, my response was, "My only complaint is that it looks better than the rest of the car!"

That, actually, with a car that is a few years old, is a real possibility, as one now has one panel with fresh, unfaded colour and no micro-abrasions. It wasn't that bad for me: a couple of weeks and I forgot it. They really did a super job.

10k for 3 panels sounds like a great plan. I pay 7k (for both denting and painting entire panel) per panel, both dealer and independent.

[Sahil00090]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

That, actually, with a car that is a few years old, is a real possibility, as one now has one panel with fresh, unfaded colour and no micro-abrasions. It wasn't that bad for me: a couple of weeks and I forgot it. They really did a super job.

10k for 3 panels sounds like a great plan. I pay 7k (for both denting and painting entire panel) per panel, both dealer and independent.

True that, you can face that situation with a few years old car. My SA assured me that since mine was a new car there won't be any problem and he wasn't wrong.

Yep, VW has got some nice packages now. I got the 5 Years service pack as well for 33k I think. This includes 5 free services, plus 1 free battery replacement, 2 time free viper replacement, 1 time disk replacement and one more thing I guess. I couldn't say no

[Guite]

Originally Posted by GrandTourer

I came across this H7 LED bulb from Osram on Amazon today.
https://www.amazon.in/dp/B08L93GX5K/...EWRSFBR1KTB5KV

I have a few questions regarding this:
1. Are these any good since they are 25W compared to the stock 55W?
2. Is setup too cumbersome with the driver unit? I would hate if the driver unit rattles
3. Lastly, would this void the warranty?

1. I haven't used, so can't comment. Thanks for bringing up here, I would like to try too. Head over to the "auto lighting thread", you will probably get answers there.
2. There is enough space in the headlight housing to accomodate the drivers, with some tight corners. You could push it into a corner and stick it to a surface using 3M VHB tape.
3. Different specs from original, so most probably will void warranty.

[bhushan08]

My ~3 year old POLO GT TSI is going fine. Has ~15k km running only due to the pandemic.

The most recent service, though, caused alarm as the SA suggested that the clutch might need replacement, if not immediately but soon enough.

He inferred this from the creep mode. My car takes about 2 sec after moving the gear lever from N to D before it creeps up and mostly stays around 5-6 kmph. He said this shows lack of power due to clutch wear and tear!

At such a low odo reading this came as a shock! I wanted to check with other owners: is the observation of 2sec delay before the car creeps (I've since tested and noticed this multiple times on my car) normal or is there something actually off?

Aside from this, the car continues to ride well except for the known/usual D3 to D2 engine breaking / power lag / jerk.